Ten Discontinued Cars That Need to Make a Comeback

Inevitably, certain models of cars will be discontinued. The reasons vary. It could be because nobody bought them. It could be because they were expensive to produce and the automaker wouldn't make a great return. Or maybe it was just time for them to die. Here are some of the discontinued cars we love that need to be made once again.

1 of 10

Acura Integra Type R

The Integra Type R is one of the holiest of holy performance front-wheel-drive cars. It made 195-hp from its little four-cylinder engine and the handling was neutral as hell, most unlike a front-wheel-drive car. And it was expensive. We found one recently in good condition for $45,000. With the Civic Type R coming to the U.S. very soon, we're waiting to hear what Acura has to say about that (like build a new Integra Type R).

Nick Berard

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2 of 10

Alfa Romeo GTV/6

The Alfa Romeo 4C sure is a looker, and the Giulia is shaping up to be a heck of a sports sedan. But we won't be truly happy until Alfa brings back the GTV/6. The world always needs more Italian fastback coupes, and the GTV/6 was arguably the best. Just put a slinky fastback body on the underpinnings of the Giulia and you have a winner.

If a mid-sized, turbocharged V6 "mini muscle car" sounds good to you, then the Buick Grand National GNX shouldn't be an unfamiliar name. GM only made 500 of these cars and the Grand Nationals were notable because of their use of V6 engines over the V8s used in competitive Mustangs. But what if we resurrected the Grand National, built it on GM's Alpha platform and gave it the twin-turbo V6 from the ATS-V?

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5 of 10

Chevrolet El Camino

Despite the truckish looks and the truckish carrying capabilities, the El Camino drove more like a car. That made it awesome,especially if you got the SS model, which had the 454 V8 under the hood. What muscle car today can store as much as a pickup while doing a burnout? Also, consider this: a car-based "small truck" would certainly have better fuel efficiency than a mid-sized truck like the Tacoma or the Colorado.

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6 of 10

Mazda RX-7

People have wanted the RX-7 to return for years. Mazda has confirmed that the rotary engine is back and could make it into a production version of the RX-9. That would certainly be a joyous day for us, because we have always loved the RX7, especially for its quirks. It was easily modded and was absolutely unreliable. Today's technology could yield an equally fun car and bring a revolutionary engine back to a market where it's been missed.

Mazda

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7 of 10

Mitsubishi Eclipse

With the Lancer Evo finally canceled, Mitsubishi no longer has anything sporty in its lineup. We'd love to see it solve that by bringing back the Eclipse. The Eclipse was the wonderful product of an alliance between Mitsubishi and Chrysler called Diamond Star Motors. It gave us the Eagle brand and the Eclipse/Eagle Talon/Plymouth Laser. That alliance may never come back, but we can hope for an all-wheel drive turbo coupe like the Eclipse GSX to give Toyota 86 fans an all-weather solution.

Eclipse

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8 of 10

Porsche 944

The turbocharged engine in the redesigned Cayman may be controversial, but the car itself is fantastic. The problem is price. Since it starts north of $50,000, it's not exactly affordable. We think that leaves room for the return of a front-engine 944 to be the new entry-level Porsche. Price it right and you have a car that's a natural step up from a Toyobaru and extends the Porsche brand with a true sports car to a younger audience. Win/win/win.

Volvo's done a great job of revitalizing its lineup recently. The XC90 and S90 are both stellar cars with great interiors. But we'd love to see the Swedish automaker take a chance and build a P1800 sports coupe again. They've already shown concept coupes, so the idea is noodling around there in the brains of the folks at Volvo. Just make it real! And while we're at it, would it be too much to ask Volvo for a longroof 1800ES version, as well?